Financial Ombudsman Service

Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) chief executive Natalie Ceeney has praised independent financial advisers for their complaints handling, saying they do a better job than larger businesses such as banks.

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service about payment protection insurance increased year on year by 51%, and accounted for 60% of all new cases in 2011/2012.

The proportion of complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) relating to independent financial advisers (IFAs) is continuing to fall.

At a summit, a group has called for industry-wide standardization of the PPI claims process to fight "unscrupulous claims management firms," and simultaneously took a side swipe at government inaction.

The government must conduct a full review of the 'uncontrollable' cost of regulation and the impact it is having on businesses, according to Tenet.

The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) has hit out at "spiralling" fee rises from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has set its budget for 2012/3 at £191.1m, meaning both the case fee and total levy will be frozen for the third year running.

The Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP) said it is "unreasonable" to expect consumers to understand complex financial products and services.

Bupa has become the second insurer to give further clarity about its complaints levels, suggesting providers may want further details to be published by the Ombudsman to put figures into a wider context.

The private medical insurance (PMI) market's two biggest players have seen a rise in the number of complaints escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).